Several close calls, accidents prompt deer warning from police department

2013-10-31T22:40:09Z2013-10-31T23:13:49Z

The message is simple: Be on the look out for deer.

(WMC-TV) - A Mid-South police department is sending out a warning to drivers after several close calls and accidents.

The message is simple: Be on the look out for deer.

Many people worry as trees get cleared out in DeSoto County, deer will begin making their way to the roads.

Wendy Archer just could not stop fast enough.

"It happened fast. I mean, it was in slow motion," said Archer, who hit a deer Wednesday night on a road in North Mississippi.

While her car is getting fixed, she says she feels blessed the accident was not worse.

"I was just hoping he would turn around," she said. "I don't know I was just scared."

People in the county say they think more deer are out now that the woods are disappearing with the construction of the new interstate. But the problem is not just rural areas.

"They were just right there in front of my truck," said Ginger Haley, who narrowly missed two deer just a few feet from the YMCA building in Olive Branch.

"You just never see them out in the city. We seem them out here on Church Road and other places," said Haley.

In order to urge drivers to slow down, Olive Branch Police Department posted a warning to residents on Facebook to look for deer as temperatures drop and days get shorter.

"Any time you make an impact with anything, the more you've had a chance to brake and the slower you're going, the less likely it is for injury and damage," said Tim Presley, Olive Branch Police Department.

"We have our teenagers driving also, learning to drive, and they need to be aware that there's deer out there," said Haley.

Archer's car was just one year old. She got it after she hit another deer in her previous car.

"I knew I was going to hit him just because I knew I was not going to get stopped fast enough," she said.